How One Athlete Uses Her Trace iD for College Recruiting

Amber Morgan, a rising defensive star with Sunrise Sting SC, has used Trace with her team for 3 years and counting. Before Trace, she felt like she was not getting enough out of the video solutions her team used. But with Trace's personalized video and Trace iD as a recruiting tool, Amber crafted a strategy to build her own brand for recruiting and get noticed by college coaches.

Trace “puts in your moments and all of your stats, and includes a lot more features” than other game film systems, stated Morgan. With other soccer cameras, "it was a lot harder to cut your own clips and was more difficult to navigate.”

Morgan also urged teams using Trace to set up a personalized workshop for their team. Through these workshops, Trace's Director of Implementations show teams how to best utilize the system for everything from improvement to saving moments to sharing memories with family. Having this insight and one on one support from a former college coach and club director was valuable for Morgan as she figured out how to make the most of her own game video. This workshop is included in every Trace subscription.

Morgan describes how her team uses Trace

Every player uses Trace moments for different purposes. For Amber, her goal was to make the most of Trace for college recruiting. In the past two years, college coaches transitioned to more virtual recruiting than ever before, and college recruiting has become a more virtual process. That's why game film and highlights were critical.

Why Personalized Highlights Matter

You first need to have a reliable way to record your games, but it doesn’t stop there. In order to be seen, you must provide footage that matters. Footage that shows you as a player, and the special moments that prove you have what it takes to play at the next level.

“I look at the new Trace video going through my moments almost immediately after the results are ready. Then I start adding them to my different playlists and share with all the coaches I’ve been in communication with.” Here's her updated Trace iD below.

With Trace, players are receiving footage automatically sent to them in the form of a playlist. By doing this, players like Amber are able to quickly scan through their moments in a matter of minutes, allowing them to sort these moments and successfully share them with scouts and coaches. Gone are the days of editing hours of video for a single highlight reel!

Successfully Communicating with Coaches using Trace iD

In order to engage with college coaches, you must be willing to put yourself out there. If you put yourself out there, you never know where you might end up! Aside from communicating via email with college coaches, Amber said she’s had a handful of conversations with coaches through social media. While a majority of contact has come from Twitter, Amber also mentioned that coaches have reached out to her via Instagram and other forms of social media.

“I have my Trace iD in my Twitter bio. I've made it very accessible. It's either through the link or through my QR code, which I also include in every email I send. With just a quick scan through your phone, it can link directly back to my personal moments”.

She also mentioned she made personalized business cards for herself to share with coaches as she travels to camps and communicates at showcase events. Ultimately, the more channels you use, the more likely you are to get noticed!

As the younger generation has flocked to social media promotion, coaches and scouts are following; recognizing that the more accessible video or highlights are, they can not only find high-end talent, but also keep tabs on those they’re currently recruiting. By updating her Trace iD after each game, Amber is consistently able to share her latest and greatest with coaches.

Advice for Athletes Entering the Recruiting Process

• Update Your moments weekly: She has been able to stay in constant communication with the coaches and schools she wants to pursue; tracking both growth and development as a player.
• Promote yourself on social media: Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. The ability to go viral through social media platforms is a great way to get your name and moments out there for the world to see. You never know which coach will stumble across your moments!
• Watch team/tactical playlists regularly: “Our coach goes through the moments to show you what you could have done better in that moment. It’s a really beneficial tool for my team and we usually make it an internal competition amongst the team.”
• Find out what you want in a college experience: Looking for the right program can be difficult. It’s critical to understand what you want in a college both on the field and off. Here’s a guide to finding the right program and what variables come into play when searching for the right fit!
• Set up a team workshop with Tim Bennett to maximize your Trace iD potential!

Favorite Feature Highlight

“My favorite feature is the one where I can add my own clips”. Trace now allows subscribers to upload their own footage, so you can combine footage that the Trace Cam records with footage from your own devices for an all-inclusive playlist.

If you’re curious about this update and others we’ve recently announced, check out our What’s New page!